Deal with Wampanoags on casino would mean $13 million a year to Taunton

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and the city have agreed in principal on an intergovernmental agreement for a proposed tribal casino in East Taunton, an arrangement that could pump millions of dollars into the city.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and the city have agreed in principal on an intergovernmental agreement for a proposed tribal casino in East Taunton, an arrangement that could pump millions of dollars into the city.

The tribe said it would provide the city with approximately $33 million in mitigation payments up front, $4.79 million in additional annual mitigation payments and at least $8 million per year in slot machine payments.

“I think it’s a win-win,” Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. said Thursday. “The city gets an economic boost from this. We can put people to work ... It’s a huge opportunity. With that, I realize it’s not a panacea, but I think once people see, read and understand the agreement, I think the majority of the people of Taunton will be supportive of it.”

The agreement is subject to approval by the City Council and is contingent on an affirmative vote in a June 9 citywide referendum and the tribe’s ability to negotiate a casino compact with the governor.

The bulk of the payments would be used to upgrade roads, traffic infrastructure and city services, including police, fire and water.

If the casino is built, it would be on sovereign tribal land held in trust by the federal government and would therefore not subject to taxes.

To offset that the agreement calls for the tribe to pay the city $250,000 each year in lieu of taxes. That amount is set to increase 3 percent each year for 10 years, after which the tribe would pay a fixed amount each year in lieu of property taxes.

The agreement calls for Taunton to receive 2.05 percent of net slot machine revenue each year, with a minimum of $8 million per year.

The tribe would also pay $370,000 annually to the School Department as well as provide yearly funds for the city to hire additional police and fire personnel.

The land the tribe has under option is in Liberty and Union Industrial Park, near the intersection of routes 24 and 140.

City Solicitor Jason Buffington said the city’s traffic consultants determined that traffic could be routed in a manner that would not disrupt a nearby residential neighborhood.

Hoye has said in the past that he would view the tribe’s previous agreement with Middleboro as a starting point in negotiations.

The tribe agreed in 2007 to pay Middleboro $7 million per year to host a casino, with the payments increasing annually based on the rate of inflation. That agreement also called for the tribe to invest $250 million in infrastructure improvements.

The tribe also has a land-into-trust application pending with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Without federal approval of that application, the property in Taunton to which the tribe has acquired rights could not be converted into sovereign tribal land, meaning a tribal casino could not be built there.